Anime Questions, Recommendations, and Discussion Thread [Week 44]

Hello once again my fellow anime enthusiasts. This is the thread in which you can pour out your heart and soul about any anime-related topic you feel like. Want to know what to watch next? Want to espouse the virtues of your favorite 80's anime? Just want to check in with others about shows you are vibing with this season? This is the place!

As always, make sure to tag your spoilers! If you don't, then Light will write your favorite character's name in his notebook.

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Madhouse doing Overlord, lvl999, and Frieren in the last year or so is a pretty good run. Maybe this is the start of their comeback.
- We can only hope that this form continues. Frieren is a pretty big commitment at 28 episodes with this quality. So I am really hoping that it doesn't drop as it goes. If they can keep delivering shows that look this good, it's hard to complain.

This past week, I didn't really have too much time to keep up with seasonal stuff. I still haven't watched the latest episodes of Kanojo mo Kanojo or Dekoboko Majo. Also, I haven't yet had a chance to check out either Pluto or The Apothecary Diaries. I have time off around Thanksgiving (in the US), so hopefully can catch up on stuff then.
For non-seasonal stuff this past week. I did manage to finish the first season of Zombie Land Saga. Overall it was really enjoyable. I do think it started the season off stronger than it ended, but there was a nice plot reveal pertaining to Kotaro to end the season that makes me excited for the second season (when I get a chance).
Finally, I am still slowly working through Rurouni Kenshin 2023. Just got to Sano's introduction and really feel like they are taking their time with the pacing. I am not really sold on whether it is a good thing or not, but the show feels unnecessarily slow sometimes. I am torn on whether this is a good thing or bad thing though. I suspect that it just feels slow right now since it is still early in the story and this beginning portion is just not very strong. But that the slow pacing will pay off later in the story when the action picks up. Time will tell!
@[email protected] if you would be so kind as to do the pinning once again.
- Gotchu, ty for doing these btw

Digging apothecary diaries.
- I have only heard great things, but I just don't really have time at the moment. Definitely going to try to catch up after work calms down a bit. Glad that you found something you are into this season.
  
  Yeah it's a really good and (mostly) chill show. The MC Maomao is such a fun character.
  It was recommended to me because I'm a big fan of Ascendance of a Bookworm. I can definitely see the similarities.

Finally got a little time to watch this week. Wrapped up my HBO Max journey by finishing the last couple movies I don’t have on disc. Turns out four of them I had picked up on previous Black Friday sales and forgot haha.
Belle: I enjoyed it and the animation was very good. But probably my least favorite Mamoru Hosoda film. Wolf Children and Mirai are easily my favorites, while this felt like mostly a retread of Summer Wars. Where it went different than Summer Wars, especially the more challenging content topics, I think it could’ve done better with a more complete message. This gets too spoilery to discuss further unfortunately. It’s worth watching, still.
From Up on Poppy Hill: I liked this much more than the last Goro Miyazaki film I watched (Earwig). Similar to Only Yesterday, it was a really nice look into a specific time period in Japan. This time the early 1960’s, with the massive developments going on in Tokyo and nearby cities. This felt like a typical Ghibli film, with very likable and strong female protagonist and a plot with a strong moral message about respecting the past/heritage. I enjoyed it more than Belle and was one of my favorites I’ve been blasting through. Still need to get to Tales of Earthsea sometime to complete my Goro journey.
Caught up on Frieren and absolutely loving it. If it keeps up, it’s going to take AOTY from Oshi no Ko for me.
- Congratulations on finishing your HBO Max travels! Glad that you found some things that you enjoyed on the way. I am realizing from your posts that I could stand to watch more things in the movie format. I haven't watched many anime movies at all other than the occasional movie that is part of a series I am watching.
  As for personal AOTY, earlier this year, I was sure that Oshi no Ko had it on lock. However, Frieren has been truly special. I really, really love the manga, so I kind of figured I would be let down by the anime adaptation since I didn't think it could get any better. However, it has exceeded even my optimistic dreams. I was worried that the story might not connect with general audiences, but I am really glad to see the widespread love for the series.

Sadly Murder farce, bleach and oshi no ko are finished and I haven't found anything else to watch other than JJK and Spy x family. Any recommendations?
- Well, if we are talking about currently airing shows, Frieren is likely to supplant Oshi no Ko for AOTY for me so far. It is a very different kind of show, melancholy, slow, thoughtful, but it is an excellent adaptation of an excellent manga. Also I have been enjoying Eminence in Shadow, but that one, being season 2 and a parody of the isekai genre, is very hit or miss with people if they connect with the humor or not. I have heard good things about Shangri-La Frontier, so that one might scratch an action itch for you.
  If we are opening up to not currently airing shows, Samurai Champloo is one of my favorites when it comes to creative sword fight choreography. Lycoris Recoil is excellent at gun fight action. If you are looking for feel-good SOL like spy family, you could try Buddy Daddies (though I haven't seen it) or Usagi Drop (the show is good, avoid the manga). Tengoku Daimakyo might scratch a mystery, adventure itch. It isn't explicitly a mystery, but there are lots of mysterious things going on.
  
  Will check out your suggestions! Thanks
- Check out Sousou no Frieren.

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